Posted on 09/29/2005 7:44:27 PM PDT by Critical Bill
The police officer who outed convicted paedophile Barry Grant Brown has told Wellington District Court he did so because a visit to Brown's flat caused him grave concern.
"I was very concerned that his location was totally inappropriate and I could not understand why he had been put there," Inspector Peter Cowan said yesterday.
There were schools, playgrounds and reasonably dense shrubbery nearby.
Mr Brown, 39, is suing police for $80,000. He was identified in 2001 when police circulated leaflets including his photograph, physical description and information about his criminal past to residents of Strathmore, Wellington.
He has convictions for sexual offences dating back to 1982. His most recent conviction was in 1998 when he was jailed for kidnap and indecent assault of a five-year-old boy.
Mr Cowan was the officer in charge of Kilbirnie police station in 2001. After learning Mr Brown had moved to Strathmore, he and Detective Brian Moyle visited him to ensure he knew police were aware of his presence. Mr Brown's manner was friendly.
They asked if they could take his photograph and he said "no problems".
It was not till after the visit that Mr Cowan decided to conduct the leaflet drop. "It was a grave step to take and not one that I had ever done before."
He was concerned because of Mr Brown's location, a lack of support for him and the extremely serious nature of his previous offending. He also had the impression that Mr Brown was devious and shifty. It would have been catastrophic if Mr Brown had reoffended and police would have been criticised if they had not notified the community, he said.
He did not consult internal guidelines before carrying out the leaflet drop but thought his actions were in accordance with them.
Earlier, Mr Brown told the court he had tried to complain to Kilbirnie police about being assaulted after the drop, but they laughed at him.
Mr Cowan had "no recollection of Mr Brown making a complaint to myself or my staff". Advertisement Advertisement
But Mr Brown's lawyer Dale La Hood questioned him about an Evening Post article published on August 14, 2001. It reported Mr Cowan saying that Brown had "contacted police complaining of harassment and assault". Mr Cowan had "doubted the veracity of the complaint because Brown had no signs of injury".
I am constantly embarrassed by my country's pathetic Liberal law record. If this creep takes $80k of taxpayers money I am going to take a personal interest in seeing he does not spend a penny ( Dime) of it.
PS We are still not letting nuclear ships come here for gods sake. The Palis are not the only ones living in the 12th century
that dude is seriously creepy. i woulda convicted him without hearing the case had I been on one of his juries.
We used to geld pigs with a "pig sticker" type of knife.
Two parallel slices, pop 'em out, slice 'em off, pour on some antiseptic, let 'em go.
And no ANZUS either.
"i woulda convicted him without hearing the case had I been on one of his juries."
May you never be on my jury.
Molester2: "ooh..if I get her the wool will she make me one too"?
if you look like that guy, be it murder, rape, or jaywalking, you're getting the chair!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.